PEORIA, Ariz. – Like the rest of his teammates, Marco Gonzales isn’t sure where Opening Day will be in two weeks for the Mariners. But as the club’s likely Opening Day starter, Gonzales did like where he was at Wednesday in Seattle’s 4-2 Cactus League victory against the split-squad Padres, a game shortened to seven innings by rain.

Gonzales gave up four hits and two runs (one earned) over 3 1/3 innings, with two walks and five strikeouts in his third Cactus League start of the spring. He’s in line for two more outings before the Mariners open regular-season play on March 26 at a yet-to-be determined site following Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision Wednesday to prohibit gatherings of 250-plus people for the rest of the month in the Seattle area to combat the coronavirus.

“I was a lot more crisp than the last couple times out,” Gonzales said. “I’m definitely feeling confident with my fastball and landing some off-speed pitches. So that was great. I had the walks and some little mistakes here and there, but overall I felt pretty sharp.”

Wherever the Mariners open, Gonzales figures to be the Opening Day starter for a second straight season after going 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA in 34 starts in 2019. As one of the few Mariners who lives year-round in Seattle, the former Gonzaga University standout acknowledged the uncertainty was a bit odd.

“It’ll be a little bit different,” he said. “I guess we’ll wait and see. I hope soon we have some sort of answer to see what that’s going to look like and where that’s going to take place. We’ll just stay tuned and kind of put everything on pause for now until we know more.”

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The 28-year-old southpaw left Wednesday’s game after a hard shot up the middle by Juan Lagares deflected off the bottom of his right foot and bounded all the way into right field, but his removal was based on having reached his 60-plus pitch count and not any injury concern.

Gonzales dealt with baserunners every inning and wasn’t helped by second baseman Shed Long’s throwing error in the two-run first, though third baseman Tim Lopes provided an excellent diving stop in the third after a leadoff walk to Jurickson Profar.

“That’s what it needs to be like,” Gonzales said. “It’s not always going to be a walk in the park. Pitching through traffic and guys on base and pitching in tight spots in a ballgame are things I need to work on going into the regular season. I’m happy to get that game-like feel.”

Marmolejos making more noise

While he came to camp as a little-known non-roster invitee, José Marmolejos continued taking advantage of his opportunity this spring with a three-run double in the sixth off southpaw MacKenzie Gore, the Padres’ No. 1-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline and the top pitching prospect in baseball.

Marmolejos is putting himself in the hunt for a backup role at first base and left field thanks to a nice left-handed swing that helped him put up solid numbers and earn Minor League Player of the Year honors twice for the Nationals.

“We haven’t got a lot of big hits in Spring Training games, late in games,” manager Scott Servais said. “But Marmolejos continues to have a really good spring and had a really good at-bat against a tough left-hander.”

Servais also liked what he saw again from Lopes, another contender for a utility role who hit the ball hard twice in a 1-for-2 night and is batting .440 with five doubles in 25 at-bats in Cactus League play.

“He made the really nice play defensively and then got that whole sixth inning started with a base hit and stolen base,” Servais said. “He continues to roll. The guys who have had good springs continue to kind of ride the wave here, which is great. They’re all competing and fighting for jobs and making it tough decisions for us when it comes down to the wire.”

Moore avoids serious injury

One day after taking a 93 mph Dylan Bundy fastball off the inside of his right wrist, Mariners utility man Dylan Moore said he survived the incident with just a deep bruise and could be back in action as soon as Thursday when the team has its second split-squad games of the spring.

The 27-year-old avoided what could have been a tough break when the ball hit him flush on the flesh instead of the wrist bones.

“Luckily it caught all muscle, so no bone fracture,” said Moore, who is battling with Lopes, Marmolejos and Patrick Wisdom for the likely final spot on the 26-man roster. “It feels much better than I thought it was going to. It hurt a lot, but it scared me more than anything. If there’s a good spot to get hit in the wrist, it hit me in the best spot.”

Moore has already missed time this spring due to a concussion and a sore left calf, but has hit .400 with a double and home run in 10 at-bats.

“The No. 1 goal is to stay healthy and get ABs and get ready for the season,” he said. “Obviously it hasn’t been flowing perfectly, but you just have to make do and roll with the punches and get in there when you can. I made some offseason adjustments and I’m feeling really good where I’m at.”

Short hops from Peoria

• Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz was reassigned to Minor League camp on Wednesday, leaving the Mariners with 50 players in camp, including 36 roster players and 14 non-roster invitees. The 25-year-old allowed seven hits and six runs (five earned) in 5 1/3 innings over four Cactus League outings.

• Utility man Sam Haggerty, a member of the 40-man roster who had been claimed off waivers from the Mets in January, is getting a second opinion after dealing for the past week with soreness in his right elbow. The 25-year-old has had two MRI tests and is looking at his options, though Servais said he “doesn’t think it’s a surgery situation.”

• Right-handed reliever Matt Magill, who ended last season as Seattle’s closer, will make his first Cactus League appearance in Thursday’s game against the Reds after working through a sore shoulder that plagued him since the start of camp.

• Fellow reliever Sam Tuivailala remains a little behind Magill as he recovers from a right shoulder impingement and will throw in a simulated game on Friday.

Up next

After missing one start due to illness, right-hander Kendall Graveman returns to action on Thursday and is slated to pitch three or four innings in the Mariners’ 1:10 p.m. PT split-squad game against the Reds in Peoria, live on Gameday Audio. After signing with Seattle as a free agent, the 29-year-old has yet to allow a run in four innings over his first two Cactus League outings. Yohan Ramirez, the Mariners’ Rule 5 reliever, will start the other split-squad game at 1:05 p.m. PT against the Royals in Surprise and could go two innings, live on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio.